BonnerSprings.com / Bobcat grapplers struggle at Clay Center tourmament

Archive for Thursday, December 14, 2000

December 14, 2000

It's said that wrestling good competition can only make you better. And in the case of the Basehor-Linwood High School team, it definitely will.

The Bobcats made a long trip last Saturday to the Clay Center Invitational, one of the toughest eight-team tournaments in the state, placing seventh.

"It was a good indication of how young and inexperienced we are," said B-L head coach Scott Neil. "We got out here and the competition was definitely stiffer (than last week's Atchison County tournament). It showed we have a lot of work to do to get the kids ready for the postseason tournaments."

Of the 11 wrestlers that competed at Clay Center for the Bobcats (they were open at three weights), seven are in the freshman and sophomore classes. So why bring a team to this caliber of tournament?

"It gives the kids a measuring stick to what they need to work on," said Neil. "They are going to see this type of wrestling at regionals and state. It's a different style of wrestling in central and western Kansas. You have to be better on the mat and I think you have to be more aggressive. It probably shows me more what we need to work on and improve on than it does the kids because they don't see it from my vantage point."

Unlike last week's tournament at Atchison County, where the Bobcats took second with eight wrestlers placing, four of them competing in the finals with two becoming champs, the Clay Center tournament saw Basehor-Linwood bring home just four placers, only one of whom made the finals.

Junior 145-pounder Matt Dukes led BLHS with a second place finish. Dukes cruised through his first two matches before falling to Abilene's Chris Alt, the defending 140-pound 4A State champ, in the finals, 7-5.

"That was probably one of the best matches I've seen him wrestle," Neil said. "It was nip-and-tuck there. Matt made a couple of mistakes and it cost him a few points, but it came down to a two point match and I think had we maybe had another five or six seconds he would have secured a tying takedown.

"Matt was disappointed about it but I was pretty happy. I thought the match could have ended up in an early pin just because of his style, but he really adapted to a very good kid and wrestled him very hard."

Also placing in the tournament for the Bobcats was Cody Bell (103-pounds) and Matt Gillett (275), third place; and Brandon Buck (152), fourth place.

Abilene won the team title for the fourth consecutive year, with 162 points, edging Clay Center's 146.5. The Bobcats finished seventh with 67 points.

CLAY CENTER INVITATIONAL

Team scores: 1. Abilene, 162; 2. Clay Center 146.5; 3. Junction City, 129; 4. Salina South 102.5; 5. Salina Central, 101.5; 6. Ellsworth, 81; 7. Basehor-Linwood, 67; 8. Beloit, 62.

Basehor-Linwood individuals:

103: Cody Bell: Won by fall, 1:50; lost by technical fall, 16-0, 5:05; won by major decision, 14-1; won by fall, 2:32 (third place).

112: Open.

119: Dustin McHenry: Lost by fall, 1:53; lost by fall, 1:38.

125: Tim Morgan: Won by fall, 3:09; lost by major decision, 16-3; lost by major decision, 14-6.

130: Nick Plesa: Lost by fall, 3:17; won by fall, 4:37; lost by decision, 6-0.

135: Jeff Lackner: Lost by fall, 2:48; won by fall, 2:16; lost by fall, 4:57.

140: Marshall Norris: Lost by fall, 1:09; bye; lost by fall, 4:40.

145: Matt Dukes: Won by fall, 1:06; won by major decision, 18-4; lost by decision, 7-5 (second place).

152: Brandon Buck: Won by fall, 1:05; lost by decision, 9-5; won by fall, :46; lost by decision, 4-1 (fourth place).

160: Jeff Rousselo: Lost by fall, 2:45; lost by major decision, 13-2.

171: Open.